Sensory experiences in a virtual reality architecture exhibition The Forest in the House (original) (raw)

2019, Master thesis in Pedagogics

Abstract

This master thesis investigates how are sensory experiences (moving, seeing, touching, hearing) made relevant for visitors to a virtual reality (VR) architectural exhibition. The study proposes that to be able to make sensory experiences relevant for visitors we need to understand 1) how visitors make their sensory experiences relevant 2) how others can support in the process 3) what the study results mean in relation to designing meaningful VR environments. To answer the research question, this study utilizes the data gathered in a research project The Forest in the house, where study participants explore a large VR installation set in the National architecture museum in Oslo and describe their sensory experiences in an interview conducted after the exploring. The Forest in the House had a diverse set of museum visitors. Participants’ ages varied from children to seniors, and they had different levels of expertise from non-experts, to architecture students, and professional architects. Together 18 pairs were recruited and partners in each pair took turns to explore the VR installation and acted as a guide to their partner. The data analysis was conducted with thematic analysis and looked for five main themes. The first theme was how participants construct new meanings and utilize learned meanings when verbally sharing sensory experiences. The second, third and fourth themes were: what presence, imagination and meaningful engagement mean in relation to participants´ sensory experiences in VR. The fifth theme was how feelings relate to making sensory experiences in VR relevant. Taken together, the theory and the results of the study show, that sensory experiences are made relevant for visitors to a virtual reality architectural exhibition by 1) taking feelings into consideration when reflecting the VR experience, 2) comparing the sensory experience with previous sensory experiences, 3) understanding stimuli from different senses as intertwined, 4) concentrating on the sensory experience and communicating it verbally, and 5) reflecting what is meaningful and how to regulate presence. The study concludes that communicating sensory experiences in VR requires deliberate practice in utilizing language to describe sensory experiences.

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